I'm in complete agreement with Clint and Jeremy.
John states:
The point of this rule is that it eliminates any argument about what caused the ball to move. No need to discuss it, you had addressed the ball, it moved, you are penalized. Next time think before you put that putter on the ground.
and
Also Decision 18-2b/4 says that if the putter has been grounded, but the stance not completed and there is strong evidence that the ball was moved by THE WIND or something else, there is NO PENALTY! I think there would have been pretty strong evidence in those cases today.
In the first paragraph, JVB takes the hard line and inflexibility of a rules official (which he rightfully so, is) unsimpathetic with the whole circumstance and absurdity that some advantageis gained if that ball happended to "oscilate or move slightly", tough cookie - the rules are the rules...
But, in citing the second (again as the knowledgeable rules official) points out one 'mitigating' exception or decision that can 'help' the player, by trying to find the slight technicality that the putter may have been grounded behind the ball, but the stance was not fully taken or committed to, as an 'out' to sufffering this unfortuitous if not unjust penalty.
the point really seems to me that greens speeds and green slopes architecturally, and such, where 'the wind' is reasonably deemed to have have oscillated or got the ball rolling away from the previous point of mark or rest, ON THE GREEN, is inoccuous to the ultimate challenge of the next stroke (if properly replaced to the original spot) and no advantage could ever be gained, by this having happened. And furthermore, that the arbitrary time between grounding the club as described, yet not taking the full stance to stroke, and the time to take the full stance is also insignificant to the issue, and if that ball oscillated when the ball was oscillated in the grounding, before or after the stance gave no real advantage, yet one is penalized and one is not.
It is a stupid rule, and like we saw, unjust in how the am player at the Masters got the penalty, and yesterday, was loosely enforced at the Open, with all the grounding, step aways from stance after it moving, regrounding, did he or not take a stance again and it moved, etc. Just silly nattering about an innocuous event that gave no one advantage in its occurance, yet makes the game pedantic and off-putting to most common sense people.